a late earth-day project. or an early teacher-appreciation one.

so this is actually something i made for katie's teacher next week for teacher appreciation week, but it ties in nicely with earth day this past week too! i wanted something cute, unique, that Mrs. V might actually use, but cheap. (cause i'm poor.) and this fit the bill. cause i made it completely FREE. well, i am going to get a $5 starbucks gift card to go with it, but still. that's gettin' off pretty good.

i got the inspiration for this coffee sleeve at RootsAndWingsCo but she didn't have an actual pattern (she just said to use a disposable one as your pattern, but since it was late at night and i didn't have a disposable one and seriously doubted starbucks was open at 11:30 at night and even if they were, it's not like i was going to run over there) so i found an actual pattern for one here, at the small object. all the fabric i used (except for the back) was from my scrap bin, great use of those little pieces! i sewed a strip of scraps together until it was big enough to fit the pattern. i didn't want them to be straight lines, i wanted all kinds of funky angles. then i ironed some fusible fleece to the back (for weight, and insulation) and quilted on both sides of the seams of all my pieces. i used some other fabric i already had for the back. the velcro makes it adjustable, i tried it on several different size cups i had on hand and it worked like a charm!

the "I take my coffee GREEN" coffee sleeve




thanks for looking!

how i managed to get out of the house without my motivating force.

nathan and austin have been gone with scouts for the past 3 weekends. which is great, unless you are me and lazy. because let's face it, nathan is the driving force behind getting me out of the house on the weekends. otherwise, i am prone to wandering around in my pajamas til noon, getting caught up in house stuff. okay, AND facebook (ahem). he is the catalyst that usually makes it happen whenever we go out as a family. today, i decided, was too pretty of a day to waste wandering around my house, once again....so, ALL BY MYSELF, and without outside forces prodding me to "get ready! let's go! c'mon, we're wasting the day!" i managed to get myself, katie and sam up to Port Townsend for the afternoon. oh, and missy.


my co-pilot

we went to Chetzemoka Park, one of my fave parks up there. we walked the beach, where missy was an endless source of entertainment for us all. she went without hesitation straight for the water. and it was Cold. capital C Cold. brrrrrrr. she kept sticking her head in, for what i didn't understand at first; but then finally she pulled out a long strand of kelp and started shaking it. she continued to do this for most of the walk, to our amusement. it was windy too; and for once i was prepared and had managed to remember to bring the kite. which neither katie nor sam were particularly interested in, but i had fun with it anyways.


the kelp hunter


isn't she just the cutest wet, fuzzy critter you've ever seen?! okay, the otters at the zoo are a close second.



then my mom and gram met us up at the playground and the kids played for awhile while we visited.




"mom, i lost my booot!"


pt. wilson lighthouse, as viewed from chetzemoka park

i attempted to take missy to the laundro-mutt when we left, but it was 4:45, they closed at 5, and they stopped accepting customers 1/2 hour before closing. needless to say, she is still a sandy mess. so then i stopped in the food co-op, before heading back to my mom's for some pizza from Waterfront Pizza downtown....mmmmm. it was delish. we visited for awhile longer there, before finally heading home just in time to throw the dirty kids in the tub and then into bed. well, we may have laid in my bed and watched ratatouille til they fell asleep. a good ending to a good day &hearts

thanks for looking!

seriously? learn some phone etiquette, craigslist dude.

tonight my phone rings at 11:20. a little weird, since my mom is the only one that ever calls after about 10-ish and i know she is in bed already. the number shows up as some weird unidentified number with a "000" area code.

me: "uh, hello?"

weird, strung-out sounding dude (afterwards referred to as WSOSD): "uh yeah. i'm calling about the crib you have on craigslist."

me: "okaay.....did you wanna come by and look at it?"

WSOSD: "well, i uh, had a few questions about it first."

me: "okay..."

silence.

me: "uh, what did you want to know?"

WSOSD: "well first, how long have you had it?"

me: "well, we've used it for 2 kids, and our daughter is 6, so we've had it about 6 years."

WSOSD: "hmmmm. okaay. and my second question is has it ever been soiled on?"

me: "well, my babies have leaked through diapers before, but the mattress is waterproof so it can be wiped down."

WSOSD: "no, that's not my question. has the crib ever been soiled on before?"

me: (by now thinking this guy is just straight-up DUMB as a freakin' post or high as hell) "um, i'm not sure i understand your question. has the crib itself ever been peed or pooped on? nope."

(more silence)

WSOSD: "okay, well thanks, but i don't think i'm interested anymore. because i just don't think you're being straight-forward about something."

me: (is this guy for real?) "okay, well, i'm being completely straight-forward with you. if i sounded a little 'off' it's probably because i'm a little surprised anyone would be calling about it at 11:20 on a weeknight...."

WSOSD: "well, what's so surprising about that? some people LIST stuff, some people NEED stuff."

me: "my point is it's a little late to be calling. thanks for your interest." (about to hang up)

WSOSD: (raising his voice at me) "NO, YOU DON'T HANG UP FIRST, *I* HANG UP FIRST"

me: (yelling, right before i hang up) "WELL THEN GO AHEAD AND HANG UP NOW!"

the phone call was almost too bizarre to believe. wondering now if i have a friend who recognized the post as mine and had a husband or someone call just to screw with me? LOL i don't know why i'm surprised though, i think craigslist attracts about the same caliber of people as walmart.

anytime you're ready, spring. bring it.

i *really* wish spring would get here and decide to stay for a bit. seems like we will have a day or two of GORGEOUS sunny semi-warm weather followed by a week of overcast, drizzly, bitterly cold days (alright, like 45 degrees). in an effort to combat today's dreariness....here are some pics from friday, which was gorgeous. we went to katie's school, which just had a new playground put in over spring break.



















thanks for looking!

some cheap, er, "thrifty" new decorating ideas.

i fell in love with this wreath awhile back....but we have nothing like the acorns that dana used in our neck of the woods (well, not that I know of anyways.) then i came across brooke's blog "all things thrifty" where she used LIMA BEANS. that, i thought, was totally.doable. and for about $7.50 i had this cute new wreath. it would've been cheaper if i had used a spray paint i already had, but i wanted blue, which was on clearance at joann's for $2.99. i love how it turned out!



i was also feeling the need for a change on the mantle. i've had the same boring candle in this holder forever. i wanted something new and spring-y. i saw Vanessa's balls and immediately knew i had to have some. wow, that sounds a little questionable. hehe. i already had everything i needed but the styrofoam balls. i only had enough jute twine for one of the small balls, so i searched around for something else to use and came up with some clothesline i had laying around. i used some spanish moss on 2 of the balls and love how those turned out as well.





thanks for looking!

Easter 2010.

we went up to my mom's in port townsend yesterday after church for the day. the easter bunny knew the kids would be up there so he left their baskets there.







my *attempt* at a nice family pic.


sam was not having it. so this is what i got instead. at least it includes everyone and they are looking at the camera. missy included. someone PLEASE remind my not to cross my legs like that next time, it looks like they take up about half the picture.


sam sure loves his nonnie.

here they are playing catch, going for a walker ride, and snuggling.


him and grammy playing cars.




the *obscene* amount of candy my kids got. those hefty bags are gallon size, each kid has one that is STUFFED with candy. those, along with the other bags that each one has, is enough to send them on a sugar high for at least the next couple months....that's not including their big chocolate bunnies. can you say "redonkulous"? blech.

this was actually on the way to grammy's....but i thought it was a better closing pic.


hope you all had a blessed easter, and thanks for looking!

Bainbridge Aquatic Center.

we went to the Bainbridge Island Aquatic Center yesterday. a great opportunity for some action shots, but none of mine turned out. color was off or kids were a blur or i was paranoid about getting my camera wet LOL so this is what i got.


and shes STILL a blur. they just wouldn't sit still for a second.


i laugh every time i see this one....something about the psychotic look on katie's face....


katie cheesin', austin ignoring me, sam lovin' his bro

thanks for looking!